A method and handheld electronic device for compensating for differential aging of display screen on a handheld electronic device wherein in a first position a first portion of the display screen is hidden from view while a second portion of the display screen is viewable, and in a second position the first portion and the second portion of the display screen are viewable. Over time, relative illumination durations of the first and second portions are tracked and based on the relative illumination durations, a relative degree of illumination of one or both of the first portion and the second portion are adjusted when the display screen is in the second position to compensate for differential aging between the first and second portion.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection. Each claim is shown in both the original legal language and a plain English translation.
1. A method for compensating for differential aging of a display screen on a handheld electronic device, wherein in a first position a first portion of the display screen is hidden from view while a second portion of the display screen is viewable, and in a second position the first portion and the second portion of the display screen are viewable, comprising: tracking over time relative illumination durations of the first and second portions; and based on the relative illumination durations, adjusting a relative degree of illumination of one or both of the first portion and the second portion when the display screen is in the second position to compensate for differential aging between the first and second portion; wherein the handheld electronic device includes a position sensor for detecting if the first portion of the display screen is hidden from view or is viewable, and wherein tracking over time the relative illumination durations is based on determining in dependence on information received from the position sensor if the first portion of the display screen is hidden from view or is viewable when the display screen is illuminated.
A method for compensating for uneven aging of a handheld device's display. The display has two portions. In a first state, only the second portion is visible. In a second state, both portions are visible. The method involves tracking how long each portion is illuminated. Based on this tracking, the brightness of one or both portions is adjusted when both are visible, evening out the aging effect. A position sensor detects whether the first portion is hidden or visible, and illumination time tracking depends on this sensor data.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein tracking over time relative illumination durations comprises updating in a memory of the handheld electronic device cumulative time totals that track a total time that the display screen is illuminated when the first portion of the display screen is viewable and a total time that the display screen is illuminated when the first portion of the display screen is hidden from view, wherein illumination of the first portion of the display screen is disabled when the first portion of the display screen is hidden from view.
Building upon the method for compensating for uneven display aging, this claim details how the relative illumination durations are tracked. Specifically, cumulative time totals are stored in the device's memory. These totals track the duration the display is lit when the first portion is visible and when it's hidden. When the first portion is hidden, its illumination is disabled entirely, contributing to the differential aging.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein an illumination level of the display screen can be set at different values over time, and tracking over time the relative illumination durations includes adjusting the illumination durations in dependence on the set illumination levels.
Expanding the method for compensating for uneven display aging using cumulative time totals, this adds that the display brightness can change over time. The tracking of illumination durations now includes adjusting the tracked times based on the current brightness level setting. This allows for more accurate compensation, as brighter settings accelerate aging.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein adjusting the relative degree of illumination comprises dimming the first portion based on the relative illumination durations of the first portion and the second portion to compensate for the differential aging of the first and second portions.
Within the method for compensating for uneven display aging, the adjustment of brightness involves dimming the first display portion based on the relative illumination times of the first and second portions. This dimming aims to counteract the differential aging, making the display appear more uniform despite varying usage patterns of the two portions.
5. The method of claim 1 comprising, prior to adjusting a relative degree of illumination, determining if a display screen age threshold has been reached and if not then forgoing adjusting a relative degree of illumination such that the relative degree of illumination is only adjusted after the display screen age threshold has been exceeded.
The method for compensating for uneven display aging includes a check to see if the display has reached a certain age threshold before adjusting the brightness. If the threshold hasn't been reached, the brightness adjustment is skipped. This prevents unnecessary adjustments on relatively new displays, delaying compensation until it's truly needed due to significant aging effects.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein the display screen age threshold is based on one or both of a total cumulative illumination time of the display screen and an age of the handheld electronic device.
This refines the display age threshold used in the method for compensating for uneven display aging. The threshold is determined by either the total cumulative illumination time of the display, the age of the device itself, or a combination of both. This provides flexibility in determining when to begin compensating for differential aging.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the display screen comprises an organic light-emitting diode (LED) device.
In the method for compensating for uneven display aging, the display screen specifically uses organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technology. This is relevant as OLEDs are known to exhibit differential aging due to the varying degradation rates of the organic materials.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the display screen is a sliding display screen, the first position corresponding to a retracted position of the display screen and the second position corresponding to an extending position of the display screen.
In the method for compensating for uneven display aging, the display is a sliding display. The first position (first portion hidden) corresponds to the display being retracted, and the second position (both portions visible) corresponds to the display being extended. This describes the physical mechanism for hiding/revealing part of the screen.
9. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions for enabling a processor of a handheld electronic device to carry out the method of claim 1 .
A non-transitory computer-readable medium (like flash memory) contains instructions that, when executed by the handheld device's processor, perform the method for compensating for differential aging of a display screen. This method involves tracking relative illumination durations of hidden and visible screen portions, and adjusting the relative brightness to compensate for uneven aging based on a position sensor.
10. A handheld electronic device comprising: a first assembly; a display assembly including a display screen, the display assembly and first assembly being movable relative to each other between a first position in which a first portion of the display screen is hidden from view by the first assembly while a second portion of the display screen is viewable and a second position in which both the first portion and second portion are viewable; a processor configured to control operation of the display screen; a position sensor for providing position information to the processor indicating if the display assembly and first assembly are in the first position or the second position; the processor being configured to disable illumination of the first portion of the display screen and enable illumination of the second portion of the display screen when the position information indicates the first position, and enable illumination of both the first and second portions when the position information indicates the second position, the processor being configured to track over time relative illumination durations of the first portion and the second portion and adjust, in dependence on the tracked relative illumination durations, a relative degree of illumination of one or both of the first portion and the second portion to compensate for differential display screen aging; wherein the processor is configured to track over time the relative illumination durations of the first portion or the second portion based on a position as sensed by the position sensor when the display screen is illuminated.
A handheld device with a display that can slide to hide or reveal a portion of the screen. A processor controls the display. A position sensor indicates whether the screen is retracted (partially hidden) or extended (fully visible). When retracted, the hidden portion is turned off. The processor tracks how long each screen portion is illuminated and adjusts brightness to compensate for uneven aging based on the position sensor data.
11. The handheld device of claim 10 wherein the processor is configured to update in a memory of the handheld electronic device cumulative time totals that track a total time that the display screen is illuminated when in the second position and a total time that the display screen is illuminated when in the first position.
In the handheld device with a sliding display and brightness compensation, the processor updates cumulative time totals in memory. These totals track how long the display is illuminated in the extended position (both portions visible) and how long it's illuminated in the retracted position (one portion hidden). These totals are used to calculate the differential aging.
12. The handheld electronic device of claim 10 wherein an illumination level of the display screen can be set at different values over time, and the processor is configured to adjust the illumination durations in dependence on the set illumination levels.
In the handheld device with a sliding display and brightness compensation, the display brightness can be adjusted by the user. The processor adjusts the tracked illumination durations to account for different brightness levels when calculating aging compensation. This makes the aging compensation more accurate.
13. The handheld electronic device of claim 10 wherein the processor is configured to reduce the relative degree of illumination of the lower portion by a compensation factor to compensate for the differential display screen aging.
In the handheld device with a sliding display and brightness compensation, the processor reduces the brightness of the first portion (the one that's hidden when retracted) using a compensation factor. This factor is based on the relative illumination times of the two screen portions, counteracting the differential aging effect.
14. The handheld electronic device of claim 10 wherein, prior to adjusting a relative degree of illumination, the processor is configured to determine if a display screen age threshold has been reached and if not then forgo adjusting the relative degree of illumination such that the relative degree of illumination is only adjusted after the display screen age threshold has been exceeded.
In the handheld device with a sliding display and brightness compensation, the processor checks if the display has reached a certain age threshold before adjusting the brightness. If not, the adjustment is skipped, preventing unnecessary compensation on newer screens. The brightness is only adjusted after the display ages sufficiently.
15. The handheld electronic device of claim 14 wherein the display screen age threshold is based on one or both of a total cumulative illumination time of the display screen and an age of the handheld electronic device.
In the handheld device with a sliding display and brightness compensation, the display age threshold is based on either the total cumulative illumination time of the display, the device's age, or a combination of both. This controls when the processor starts adjusting the brightness to compensate for differential aging.
16. The handheld electronic device of claim 10 wherein the display screen comprises pixels that are made up of different coloured sub-pixels and adjusting the relative degree of illumination comprises adjusting, based on colour, degrees of illuminations of the different subpixels in the display screen to compensate for the differential aging of the different subpixels.
In the handheld device with a sliding display and brightness compensation, the display uses pixels with different colored sub-pixels. The processor adjusts the brightness of the different sub-pixels independently, based on their color. This compensates for the differential aging of the different colored sub-pixels, leading to more accurate color reproduction over time.
17. The handheld electronic device of claim 10 wherein the display screen comprises an organic light-emitted diode (LED) device.
In the handheld device with a sliding display and brightness compensation, the display is an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display. This highlights that the invention is particularly relevant for OLED displays, known for their aging characteristics.
18. The handheld electronic device of claim 10 wherein the first assembly is a housing assembly having a cavity, and the display assembly is slidably mounted to the housing assembly, the first position corresponding to a retracted position of the display assembly in which the first portion of the display screen is received within the cavity and the second portion of the display screen is viewable outside of the cavity, and the second position corresponds to an extended position of the display screen assembly in which the first portion and second portion of the display screen are both viewable outside of the cavity.
The handheld device is comprised of a housing and a sliding display. The housing has a cavity. When the display is retracted, one portion sits inside the cavity and is hidden, while the other remains visible. When extended, both portions are visible. This describes the mechanical construction of the sliding display mechanism.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
December 23, 2010
August 20, 2013
Browse 5M+ US patents with plain-English claim translations and AI-generated analysis.